Photo: The Canadian Press

A group of students at the University of British Columbia have turned to technology in an effort to address the opioid crisis by creating a wearable device they say can detect an overdose.

The six engineering, medical and design students wanted to focus on people who could overdose indoors, where others can't see or help them, said Sampath Satti, a biomedical engineering graduate student.

More than 900 people fatally overdosed across British Columbia last year.

"The people who have naloxone kits and are trained to use them are not coming in frequent contact with the people who need to use them," Satti said.

The group has created a device that is worn on a person's wrist, with a wire connecting to a sensor on a fingertip, that can detect when a user has stopped moving and breathing.

Satti compared the technology to a wearable fitness tracker that monitors a person's heart rate. The overdose detector would sound an alarm if a person's vital signs fall below a certain threshold, alerting others to a possible overdose so naloxone can be administered.

Next week, they plan to start working with an overdose prevention site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to collect more data and see if their methodology can be used reliably outside of a controlled environment.

Satti said the aim is to produce the gadgets for about $30 each so they could be used at overdose prevention sites or wherever people typically use illicit drugs.